RESUMEN
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a global health and socio-economic problem, resulting in significant disability and mortality. Malnutrition is common in TBI patients and is associated with increased vulnerability to infection, higher morbidity and mortality rates, as well as longer stays in the intensive care unit and hospital. Following TBI, various pathophysiological mechanisms, such as hypermetabolism and hypercatabolism, affect patient outcomes. It is crucial to provide adequate nutrition therapy to prevent secondary brain damage and promote optimal recovery. This review includes a literature review and discusses the challenges encountered in clinical practice regarding nutrition in TBI patients. The focus is on determining energy requirements, timing and methods of nutrition delivery, promoting enteral tolerance, providing enteral nutrition to patients receiving vasopressors, and implementing trophic enteral nutrition. Enhancing our understanding of the current evidence regarding appropriate nutrition practices will contribute to improving overall outcomes for TBI patients.
RESUMEN
Marked protein catabolism is common in critically ill patients. We hypothesized that optimal protein supplementation using nitrogen balance might be associated with better outcomes in the neurointensive care unit (NICU) patients. A total of 175 patients admitted to the NICU between July 2017 and December 2018 were included. Nitrogen balance was measured after NICU admission and measurements were repeated in 77 patients. The outcomes were compared according to initial nitrogen balance results and improvement of nitrogen balance on follow-up measurements. A total of 140 (80.0%) patients had a negative nitrogen balance on initial assessments. The negative balance group had more events of in-hospital mortality and poor functional outcome at three months. In follow-up measurement patients, 39 (50.6%) showed an improvement in nitrogen balance. The improvement group had fewer events of in-hospital mortality (p = 0.047) and poor functional outcomes (p = 0.046). Moreover, improvement of nitrogen balance was associated with a lower risk of poor functional outcomes (Odds ratio, 0.247; 95% confidence interval, 0.066-0.925, p = 0.038). This study demonstrated that a significant proportion of patients in the NICU were under protein hypercatabolism. Moreover, an improvement in protein balance was related to improved outcomes in neurocritically ill patients. Further studies are needed to confirm the relationship between protein balance and outcomes.